Following the economic challenges of the COVID pandemic, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in 2021, steering infrastructure and economic recovery funds to every incorporated jurisdiction in the country. Kent County jurisdictions received $10,938,757 in ARPA funds, and it’s time to find out how we spent that money! The Democratic Club of Kent County extends an invitation to all members of the community to attend our next online meeting, to learn about the impact of these funds in our daily lives. We’ll be joined by County Commission President Ronald Fithian, and by a representative (invited) from each of the five towns in Kent County to speak on the ways that they have applied these funds, at our Club meeting on the evening of March 21.
The American Rescue Plan Act provided relief from the economic challenges of the pandemic in a variety of ways – more information is here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/American-Rescue-Plan-Fact-Sheet.pdf. State and local governments received $350 billion in “State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds” (https://www.ncsl.org/fiscal/arpa-state-fiscal-recovery-fund-allocations). Maryland’s share was well over $3.7 billion, and a significant portion of those funds were allocated for specific purposes to local agencies, departments and school systems, beyond what went directly to local incorporated jurisdictions. While this March 21 meeting will not be covering those other benefits of the ARPA funds, the meeting will detail the ways that that Kent County and our five towns improved water systems, wastewater management, utilities infrastructure, town and community buildings, police and fire equipment, and more.
The public is invited to join old friends and to make new ones at this meeting, which will take place via Zoom on Thursday evening, March 21st. The meeting will open with a social time at 6:30 pm, followed by a brief business meeting. At 7:00 we’ll hear from our speakers, with an opportunity for questions and discussion with each speaker. Club members will receive the Zoom link prior to the meeting – all others please contact the club at [email protected] for an invitation to attend.
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